Senior Russian banker fired after scathing speech on wartime economy

<p>Andrei Klepach of VEB said Russia’s economy was falling behind China, US and ‘in some respects Ukraine’</p><ul><li><p><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/live/2026/aug/17/europe-wildfires-france-greece-belgium-germany-climate-crisis-drought-extreme-heat-latest-news-updates">Europe live – latest updates</a></p></li></ul><p>The chief economist at Russia’s second-largest bank has been fired after a series of critical comments about the state of the economy, including warnings that Moscow would not win a prolonged economic war with Ukraine.</p><p>Andrei Klepach, who had served in the role at the state-controlled development bank VEB since 2014, was fired days after Russian media reported on a scathing speech he had delivered to fellow economists in May.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/aug/17/andrei-klepach-russian-banker-fired-warning-economy">Continue reading...</a>